New Rock and Roll Poetry Book: Third Rail

The book, Third Rail, features poems inspired by rock and roll.  Guns N’ Roses is the title of a poem by Campbell McGrath which starts out:
“Not a mea culpa, not an apology, but an admission:
there are three minutes in the middle of “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
that still, for all the chopped cotton of the passing years,
for [...]

Free Online Novel — Ember

I find the coolest things on Dionne Galace’s blog.  The latest cool thing I found is Ember, an online novel in progress at Bettie Sharpe’s site.  (Remember that name — you’ll probably be hearing a lot of it in the future, especially if you like romance novels with a bit of action and a bit [...]

We Swallow(ed) Spiders in our Sleep

The latest edition of Word Riot is out, and a review caught my eye because of the title of the book:  We Swallow(ed) Spiders In Our Sleep.  The book is a collection of poems by Zachary C. Bush, and you can read the review here, which includes a few excerpts.  I gather that the reviewer, [...]

L8r G8r — A Novel Using Internet-speak

The quest to feature one 2007 novel for each letter of the alphabet continues.  L8r G8r (as in “Later Gator” by Lauren Myracle represents the letter “L,” and it looks really freakin’ cool.  It is the third in a series of young adult novels (although there’s no reason the book can’t be enjoyed by old [...]

Killing Johnny Fry: A Sexistential Novel

Sex, sex, and more sex.  That’s what it sounds like this book consists of.  It’s not due out until December 26th, but you can pre-order it at amazon.  It’s called Killing Johnny Fry: A Sexistential Novel, and it’s by bestseller Walter Mosley. 
Tom Callahan at bookreporter.com had this to say about the novel:
“Well, anybody who dismisses Killing [...]

The Journal of Dora Damage (First and Last Novel of Deceased Author)

The Journal of Dora Damage: A Novel by Belinda Starling is a historical novel about erotic publishing in Victorian London, bookbinding, and the binds of sex, class, and race.  Unfortunately, shortly before her debut novel was published, author Starling died of complications following surgery to have a cyst removed from her bile duct.  She was just [...]

In the Country of Men

In the Country of Men is the debut novel of Hisham Matar who was born into a Libyan family in New York and grew up in Tripoli and Cairo.  Ron Charles writes in his review for the Washington Post:
“Behind reports of dissidents intimidated, tortured and killed by the world’s repressive regimes hide the subtler, more obscure stories of their [...]

Heart-Shaped Box

H.  It’s the eighth letter of the alphabet and the one I’m currently on in my ongoing alphabetical feature of 2007 novels.  Today’s book is Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (which is actually the pen name of Stephen King’s son, Joseph King).  Lev Grossman sums up the plot this way in his Time Magazine review:
“Heart-Shaped Box is about a very [...]

The Game (A Novella)

The Game is a children’s novella of fantasy with the story set in Ireland.  It’s also the book I’m highlighting for the letter “G” in my alphabetical listing featuring novels released in 2007.  (Which I’d better hurry and finish before 2007 is gone!)  Scifi Dimensions recently reviewed this book:
“Living on the outskirts of contemporary London, Hayley is a normal if timid [...]

Kelley Armstrong — Thanks and Index

A big thank you to Kelley Armstrong for guestblogging.  I like to include a list of each guest writer’s posts so that people can have one page to link to as a handy reference, so see the following list.  Kelley is interested in what you have to say, too, so if you haven’t commented on any of her [...]